Page 15 of Concrete Evidence
“If necessary.”
“How will I know if you’re all right?” His lack of response shattered her heart.No, please no.“Are you telling me I may never see you again?”
“Remember what I’ve always said. If your life depends on it, think bigger.”
Control fled, and she sobbed.
“Don’t worry about me, sweet girl. Craig can run the ranch and construction company until you return. That is, if you want the businesses.” Granddad hesitated. “Avery, if something happens to me, everything I own goes to you. You also have financial power of attorney.”
She ached with the grief of possibly not having him in her life. “Let’s talk about a solution. What about your attorney or someone in Austin or DC?”
“At the moment I have a plan. The important thing is don’t trust anyone. Be on high alert. Understand I’m not giving up.”
“Giving up on what? Finding who is behind this?”
“Never mind.”
“Please tell me why men are dead.”
“They walked into a trap.”
She swallowed acid rising in her throat. “Wouldn’t it be easier to turn yourself in?”
“Admit to murder? No thanks.”
She sobbed, couldn’t help it. “Nothing you’ve taught has prepared me for this nightmare.”
“I’m sorry. No matter what happens or what you do going forward, I love you. While we’ve been talking, I’ve made a decision, and it sounds like I’m contradicting myself. But I want you to contact Houston FBI Special Agent Marc Wilkins and tell him everything you saw and heard. Do so in person. Leave nothing out. That will exonerate you from those investigating me.”
“He’s a friend? Related to Colonel Abbott Wilkins?”
“His son. Colonel Wilkins died, and his service was Monday. Be careful and remember you’re an Elliott. You are strong, wise, and God has given you a discerning mind. Watch out for danger. I’ve tried to protect you, but my enemy trying to get to me by harming you is a strong possibility.”
“Law enforcement or evil people?”
“I’m battling the devil.”
The phone clicked.
Only road noise met her ears.
She tried calling back, but he didn’t pick up.
Was this where love had dropped her?
11
IF MARC COULD MOVE INTOan empty office at Houston’s FBI, he’d have tossed in a sleeping bag a long time ago. Today, his cubicle’s familiar sight and smell offered a sense of normal, and he needed the order to gain the right perspective with his personal and professional lives.
He’d given up finding information to indicate his father had met death through any means but natural causes. Those around his father at the grocery store said he grabbed his chest, had difficulty breathing, and broke out into a sweat. Marc had studied the cardiologist’s report, and his father’s recent physical confirmed his excellent health. That puzzled him, and an autopsy would have provided conclusive results, but those steps didn’t happen. He needed more to indicate suspicious death before he advised an exhumation.
His partner, Roden Clement, towered in the doorway like a football player in full pads, reminiscent of his college days at Texas A&M. But his true muscles were his heart and mind.
Marc stood to greet him. “Hey. I was about to text you.”
“I thought you were taking a few days off to be with your mother.”
“I am—the reason for my text. Just in the office to wrap up the stuff on my desk.”
